Generally, this kind of brake operating device is mounted on a handle bar of a bicycle and comprises a bracket member fixed to the handle bar and a lever pivoted to the bracket member through a lever shaft and one end of a control wire is supported to one of the lever and bracket member and one end of an outer sheath guiding the control wire is supported to the other.
The lever is usually L-like shaped and comprises a pivot portion and a grip portion. The lever is pivoted at the pivot portion to the bracket member, and keeps a regular grip dimension between the grip portion and the handle bar. The control wire is supported at its one end to an intermediate bent section of the lever and the outer sheath guiding the control wire is supported at one end to the bracket member. A rider, when exerting the braking action, stretches the fingers of his hand gripping the handle bar and grips the lever to pull the control wire.
However, a conventional brake operating device, as shown in FIG. 12, pivotally supports the lever L to the bracket member A, at the pivot position P radially inward of the handle bar B with respect to the position where the wire W and outer sheath O are supported, in other words, the pivot position P is in proximity to the handle bar B. Hence, the grip portion of the lever, when exerting the braking action, swings around the pivot position P toward the handle bar B, whereby the utmost end of grip portion travels along a line of movement defining a large circular arc as shown by the dot-and-dash line in FIG. 12. Therefore, the grip portion of the lever gripped by the driver's hand, when effecting the braking action, moves lengthwise of the handle bar and is displaced with respect to the position of the driver's hand gripping the handle bar. As a result, it is hard to exert a stable braking action.
In addition, the above brake operating device has the problem in that the wire W and outer sheath O are supported radially away from the handle bar B, thereby making it hard to extend them along the handle bar B.